‘I’m lucky to be alive’

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Feb. 25, 2000 | 10:10 a.m.

Anyone who doesn't believe that women's basketball is a contact sport should check the scalp of UNLV guard Constance Jinks.

The 5-7 freshman from Chicago still was sporting six stitches in her head Wednesday afternoon, the result of a violent midcourt collision with teammate and roommate Carlesa Dixon in a Feb. 17 win over Air Force at the Thomas & Mack.

The cut, which splattered blood all over the court and forced a five-minute delay, became infected a few days later, forcing Jinks to get an injection of antibiotics.

Still, as scary and ugly as that injury first appeared, it was nothing compared to the gash Jinks suffered the summer before her junior year at Morgan Park High School on the rugged south side of Chicago.

"I was at a friend's house when I got into an argument with someone," said Jinks, the Lady Rebels' third-leading scorer with a 11.9 average. "She stabbed me right here with a butcher's knife."

Jinks points to a scar between her left eye socket and temple.

"I think it took nine stitches to close," she said. "I almost lost an eye. A littler farther over in the temple and I could have been dead. I'm lucky to be alive."

So what's a little bump on the head after going through an ordeal like that?

"I had nightmares for weeks ... months ... after that," Jinks said. "To this day, when I think about it, I still twitch."

With her life and vision still intact, Jinks went on to earn prep All-America status at Morgan Park. She was rated the No. 29 prospect in the nation by USA Today as a senior and drew recruiting interest from a number of major Division I women's programs, including Rutgers, Iowa, Alabama, Arizona and UCLA.

But she decided to visit UNLV and eventually signed with the Rebels, where she already is a key contributor.

"I came (to Las Vegas) my freshman year for a spring tournament and liked it," Jinks said. "When I looked at the other programs recruiting me, they already had a lot of big names in their programs. I wanted to go some place where I could help build a program."

Although she ranks among the team leaders in most key categories, Jinks has settled into a role as a sixth man for the Lady Rebels.

"She just delivers such a spark for us when she comes off the bench," UNLV coach Regina Miller said. "We have a philosophy that it's not who starts but who finishes the game. And Constance is usually out there at the end."

Jinks wears the number 23 and also has a gold chain with that number dangling from it. Being from Chicago, you don't have to guess very hard who her idol is.

"I went to some Bulls games and I got to meet Michael (Jordan) a few times," she said. "My uncle, Kenny Shannon, is very close to (ex-Bull and current Lakers guard) Ron Harper, so I got to meet some of the players."

And although she doesn't turn 19 until September, Jinks has already proven she can play at the Division I level.

"She is very athletic and has good speed," Miller said. "Some people would call her cat-quick. She's made a nice adjustment from high school, where she played on the wing, to point guard for us. It's always a nice bonus when you can have a freshman make the kind of impact on your team that Constance has."

* LADY REBEL NOTES: Miller's squad plays its final Mountain West regular season home game at the Thomas & Mack on Saturday night at 5 p.m. against San Diego State (8-16, 3-8). The Lady Rebels (13-11, 5-6) finish conference play with a trip to Colorado State and Wyoming next week before returning home for the MWC postseason tourney starting March 8.